Blue Jays Stat of the Day: June 2021

MLB.com is keeping track of a Stat of the Day for the Blue Jays this season, highlighting a unique, interesting or fun nugget from each game.

• Blue Jays Stat of the Day, May 2021

June 30: Mariners 9, Blue Jays 7 (10) -- Semien's 51 RBIs
Marcus Semien bet on himself, and he's winning. With another RBI in Wednesday's loss to the Mariners, Semien now leads all second basemen in the American League. He's hitting for power, with 19 home runs and 20 doubles. Entering Wednesday, he had already racked up a value of 3.3 WAR, according to FanGraphs.

June 29: Blue Jays 9, Mariners 3 -- Ray racking up K's
Robbie Ray struck out another 10 batters, and those double-digit totals are becoming expected. That performance gave him 113 strikeouts this season, tying him with Roger Clemens (1997) for the most through 15 starts in a single season in Blue Jays history. What's even more impressive is that Ray has done all of this while dramatically cutting his walks, after leading the Majors in that category in 2020.

June 27: Blue Jays 5, Orioles 2 -- Vlad Jr. demolishes baseballs
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sits at or near the top of nearly every traditional statistic in the Majors this season, and he has a few Statcast leads to his name, too. Guerrero launched a 114.4 mph single off the left-field wall in Sunday's 5-2 win over the Orioles, marking his 41st ball hit over 110 mph in 2021. No hitter in baseball has done that more than Guerrero, with the Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton (36) the closest.

June 26: Blue Jays 12, Orioles 4 -- A fast 50 for Vladdy
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his 50th career home run in his 258th game and reclaimed sole possession of the MLB lead with his 26th of the season. He became the second-fastest player in Blue Jays history to reach the half-century mark. Only Fred McGriff, in 229 games, got there faster.

June 25: Orioles 6, Blue Jays 5 (10) -- Canada record for Vlad
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. might go on to set some MLB records this season, but he checked off a Canadian one on Friday. With Guerrero's 25th home run of the season, he set a new record for the most hit by a Canadian-born Blue Jays player in club history. The previous record holder, Michael Saunders, hit 24 with Toronto back in 2016. Guerrero was born in Montreal back when his father was playing for the Expos in 1999.

June 24: Blue Jays 9, Orioles 0 -- Kay's strikeout stuff A-OK
Anthony Kay turned in his best outing of the season, going five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts. He recorded his first seven outs via strikeout, becoming the first Blue Jays pitcher to achieve that mark. It was an encouraging sign from the young left-hander, and while he'll continue to represent rotation depth, aggressive outings like this also open the door to a bullpen role down the stretch.

June 23: Blue Jays 3, Marlins 1 -- Bichette tops MLB in runs
The first run in Wednesday's win was scored by Bo Bichette, because of course it was. Bichette has scored 61 times in 2021, more than any player in Major League Baseball. That's partly his own doing, as a talented hitter who bats near the top of the order and plays every day. It's also the byproduct of hitting in front of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Teoscar Hernández, who love to drive in runs. The dynamics of this lineup will change when George Springer eventually returns to the leadoff spot, but for now, Bichette is producing in his role.

June 22: Blue Jays 2, Marlins 1 -- Another win against the NL
The Blue Jays have dominated the National League this season, with Tuesday's win over the Marlins pushing them to 12-2 on the season in Interleague Play. That's the most Interleague wins in MLB, and their 26 Interleague home runs also lead baseball. This isn't new, either. All-time, the Blue Jays' 610 Interleague home runs are the most by any club.

June 20: Blue Jays 7, Orioles 4 -- McGuire's big day
Reese McGuire had his biggest game of the season on Sunday, going 4-for-5 with three doubles and two RBIs. It was the first time in McGuire's career that he'd recorded three extra-base hits, plus he became the first Blue Jays player to record three doubles in a game since Aledmys Díaz on Sept. 8, 2018.

June 19: Blue Jays 10, Orioles 7 -- 5 Blue Jays have 40-plus RBIs
Marcus Semien hit his 17th and 18th home runs of the season, leaving him with 42 RBIs. This gives the Blue Jays five players with 40-plus RBIs, more than any other club in baseball. Led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (59), the Blue Jays also have Randal Grichuk (46), Bo Bichette (45) and Teoscar Hernández (41).

June 18: Orioles 7, Blue Jays 1 -- Gurriel Jr. ends drought
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.'s seventh home run of the season represented Toronto's lone run in the series opener. It was his farthest long ball of the season, leaving his bat at 105.5 mph and traveling 409 feet. The knock snapped an 0-for-17 slump for Gurriel, whose last prior hit, also a homer, came June 13 against the Red Sox.

June 17: Yankees 8, Blue Jays 4 -- Wrong end of triple play
With runners on second and third and nobody out in the first inning, it looked like the Blue Jays would jump out to an early lead over the Yankees. Think again. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. chopped a ball back to the pitcher, and after Guerrero was thrown out at first, a baserunning mix up with Marcus Semien and Bo Bichette led to them both being thrown out. The triple play, scored 1-3-6-2-5-6, was the first of its kind in MLB history. It was the 10th triple play that the Blue Jays have hit into in club history.

June 16: Yankees 3, Blue Jays 2 -- Bichette's club-record start
Bo Bichette has 21 hits in 14 games this month, with manager Charlie Montoyo saying that the young shortstop is letting the ball get deeper into his swing zone, utilizing his bat speed to go the other way. Bichette is hitting for power, too, and his 14 home runs lead all American League shortstops this season. He also is the fastest player in Blue Jays history to hit 30 career home runs (140 games), surpassing Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (143 games).

June 15: Yankees 6, Blue Jays 5 -- Ryu surpasses 800 career K's
Hyun Jin Ryu had a unique outing on Tuesday night against the Yankees, walking an uncharacteristic four batters but still finding a way to battle through and give the Blue Jays six innings of three-run ball. His first strikeout of the night, Brett Gardner, marked No. 800 in his big league career. Prior to making his MLB debut in 2013, Ryu pitched seven seasons in the KBO, where he struck out 1,238 batters.

June 14: Red Sox 2, Blue Jays 1 -- Vlad Jr. homers in all four games of series
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. absolutely owned the Red Sox over this past weekend in Boston, hitting a home run in each of the four games. The last Blue Jays player to do that was Edwin Encarnacion in 2010 against the Rays. Guerrero, who leads all MLB players in All-Star voting, had nine hits in the series and just keeps rolling this season, showing MVP Award-winning potential.

June 13: Blue Jays 18, Red Sox 4 -- Young core connects again
For years now, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio were grouped together as the "next wave" or "young core." That picture has changed and been added to, but they'll always be tied as the sons of former big leaguers. Saturday's game vs. the Red Sox was the first time in their MLB careers that they'd all homered in the same game, though. The second time? The very next day, when all three homered.

June 12: Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 2 -- Bo obliterates a ball
Bo Bichette unloaded on Saturday at Fenway Park, launching a 468-foot blast deep over the Green Monster. That easily surpassed his previous career high of 441 feet, and only George Springer's 470-foot home run travelled farther in 2021. Looking back through Statcast measurements beginning in 2015, Bichette's home run is the seventh-farthest. Former Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak still holds the record at 474 feet, set back in 2015.

June 11: Red Sox 6, Blue Jays 5 -- Blue Jays hit 16 balls 100+ mph
Friday's loss to the Red Sox will be remembered for a late bullpen meltdown, but before that happened, it was another episode of the Vladimir Guerrero Jr. show. Guerrero launched two base hits off the Green Monster, then cleared it with his 19th home run of the season to reclaim the Major League lead, and the rest of the Blue Jays followed suit. Toronto hit 16 balls over 100 mph, a new high for the team since Statcast began measuring in 2015 and the third-most by any team this season.

June 10: White Sox 5, Blue Jays 2 -- Vlad Jr. smoking the ball
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s 2021 season has been a laser show, only rivalled by Giancarlo Stanton of the Yankees. Guerrero ranks second in MLB with 31 balls hit over 110 mph this season, and he's tied for second with three home runs hit over 450 feet. Guerrero's standard stats are at an MVP level across the board, but no matter how deep you dig into Statcast, he's still right there at the top.

June 9: Blue Jays 6, White Sox 2 -- Bichette's 50th multihit game
Bo Bichette went 3-for-5 and his three singles out of the second spot in the lineup marked the 50th game in which the shortstop has collected multiple hits since his debut in 2019.

June 8: White Sox 6, Blue Jays 1 -- Ray's strikeout hat trick
For the third time in his career, left-hander Robbie Ray struck out 13 hitters in a single start. He accomplished the feat without issuing a walk in 6 1/3 innings, and he required fewer pitches (102) than his other two 13-K starts. Prior to the series opener, Ray struck out 13 hitters across six frames against the Dodgers on July 6, 2017, and against the Padres on Aug. 20, 2016.

June 6: Astros 6, Blue Jays 3 -- Semien hitting the ball hard
Coming off a down year in 2020, Marcus Semien has emerged as one of the best players in baseball again this season, recently being named the American League Player of the Month in May. His hard-hit rate has shot all the way from 28.6% to 42.9%, too, and that increase of +14.3% ranks fourth in Major League Baseball this season. Semien has been setting the table as Toronto's leadoff hitter, but regardless of how this lineup looks when George Springer returns, Semien is one of its cornerstones.

June 5: Blue Jays 6, Astros 2 -- Gurriel Jr. shows off his arm
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. fielded a base hit to left field and made a perfect throw to the plate to nab Myles Straw for his seventh outfield assist, tying him for the Major League lead.

June 4: Astros 13, Blue Jays 1 -- Grichuk's long blast
The lone bright spot in the Blue Jays' loss to the Astros? Randal Grichuk's solo home run to left-center field, and he got all of it. Grichuk's 459-foot shot was the fifth-longest by a Blue Jays hitter in 2021 and the fourth-longest of his career. As Grichuk continues to cut his strikeout rate, he's now hitting .287 with 12 home runs and an .844 OPS, and he has quietly been one of the most valuable players on this roster.

June 2: Blue Jays 6, Marlins 5 -- Blue Jays love home field
Home has meant a few different things to the Blue Jays this year, beginning in Dunedin, Fla., for the first two months before relocating to Buffalo, N.Y., on June 1. It's been friendly to their hitters, though, as the Blue Jays have put up huge numbers in their "home" ballpark. Entering Wednesday's walk-off win over the Marlins in Buffalo, the Blue Jays led baseball in home-field average (.278), slugging percentage (.494), OPS (.840) and runs per game (5.86). Just like Dunedin, Buffalo can be a launching pad depending on which way the wind is blowing, so it's a good time to be a flyball hitter in a Blue Jays uniform.

June 1: Blue Jays 5, Marlins 1 -- Vlad Jr. dominating opposite field
The first base hit of the season at Buffalo's Sahlen Field went to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who else. Guerrero launched a low liner into the right-field corner in the bottom of the first. The double left his bat at 104.3 mph. This is becoming so routine for Guerrero, who, as he did in the Minor Leagues on his way to becoming baseball's No. 1 prospect, is launching rockets to all fields. Guerrero's slugging percentage on balls hit to the opposite field was .853 entering play on June 1, trailing only Fernando Tatis Jr. (1.061) for the highest in MLB.